As bad as the Super Bowl ticket fiasco ended up being for the NFL, it could have been much, much worse. Documents released by the City of Arlington on Friday indicate a concern by at least one Arlington official that the Cowboys were willing to roll the dice and take their chances that seats not cleared by the local officials wouldn’t, you know, collapse.

According to a thorough chronicle of the events created by the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Arlington building official Ed Dryden wrote in an e-mail to his boss, Jim Parajon, “I think that the Cowboys are not going to correct certain items and assume the risk. This is not a good situation!”

Parajon told Dryden not to budge. “Bottom line is if it is not right, don’t approve it,” Parajon wrote in response.

It took a certain amount of courage for local officials to stand up to the most significant and powerful local business entity on the biggest day in the young life of the biggest stadium in the country. If the seats that were still being slapped together hours before the game had been used and had failed, we’d now be trying to sift through the mess and allocate blame.

Based on Dryden’s e-mail, much of the blame would have gone to the Cowboys. If Dryden’s perception is accurate, Jerry Jones’ employees were willing to risk the safety of Super Bowl attendees, all in the name of breaking the single-game attendance record.

Let’s reflect on that for a second. Dryden’s conclusion that the Cowboys were “not going to correct certain items and assume the risk” borders on the chilling, especially since we’ve seen so many man-made incidents in the past that could have been prevented. So while Drydan and Parajon deserve credit for saying “no” to an organization whose owner is very used to hearing “yes,” our collective view of the Cowboys organization should be a bit dimmer tonight.

In their zeal to set the NFL single-game attendance record, the Cowboys were willing to “assume the risk” that, after some of the record-setting fans reached their assigned seats, their assigned seats could collapse.

(But, hey, if that had happened the league could have stepped in and offered a triple refund and a ticket to next year’s Super Bowl.)

Meanwhile, the Cowboys continue to say nothing about the situation. And there’s nothing they can say to change the perception that, if the Cowboys had their way, safety would have taken a back seat to the pursuit of a meaningless high-water mark.

“Roll the dice”…….”Assume the risk”….All this for an attendance record?..I mean, these people seats could have collapsed, it’s just mind blowing the ego of Jerry Jones, and if he had crammed enough sardines into the can and it did collapse, did thie idiot ever think of the consquences?,,,Unbelievable

Having served on a city zoning and planning commission, I can tell you there is shared blame across the board.

The tenant had AMPLE time to file its permit with the city for consideration and approval.

The city most certainly knew the stakes involved for not being more of a partner in this accord, and abiding by it’s “policies”.

Either way, if the Cowboys didn’t file the paperwork on time? Seriously? This wasn’t MacBeth that was due for 8th grade english. This was a crucial detail in hosting a SuperBowl. The city is equally as culpable for not assigning someone to oversee the SuperBowl event as a magistrate of some kind.

This was entirely preventable, and the weather had absolutely nothing to do with it. A thorough project management plan should have been drawn up and followed by both the Cowboys and city. This should have been handled MONTHS in advance.

And memo to the NFL, you might want to appoint someone yourself to triple check that all the details (like permits) are taken care of being hosting one of the biggest sporting events on earth.

This is what’s wrong with America. “We” are to greedy. It wasn’t enough for Jerry to build a brand new billion dollar stadium, no. It wasn’t enough to have a Super Bowl held there, no. He was willing to risk the lives of people to break a stupid record? This is a sad story.

This makes me sick. Does anyone remember that the Cowboys practice facility COLLAPSED and paralyzed one of Jerry Jones’ own employees for life?? As well as causing significant injuries to other members of their own staff. How dare they even question for a second that every single part of this facility would be safe for over 100,000 people. But especially after living through a tragic event because of careless building and consideration for safety issues. The more that has come out about this league, the more unbelievable it gets. This is just wrong.

@jsratx
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Spare me the drama…..I doubt whatever city planning commission you were on, had to deal with 1/1o0th the magnitude of the super bowl…And stop sending memos to the NFL, as if they really care…get a grip

Jerry Jones probably thought he’d just write a check, which is exactly what happened when the Cowboys employees were injured in a collapsing practice facility during 58 mph winds.

The Cowboys org should be on their knees and thanking whatever deity they believe in that the city inspectors dared to stand up to them. Those who were kept out of the seats were inconvenienced and should be compensated for that, but after reading the above, it could be a lot worse.

Major congrats to those two building officials. It’s nice to see the occasional proof that there are still plenty of men with integrity in this day and age. They could have rubber-stamped what the 800-lb gorilla in the corner wanted, but did their jobs instead. Very nice indeed.

I work for a similar agency in another state. The temporary seating collapsing may not have even the biggest concern. Usually, you’re more worried about guaranteeing that all the seated occupants can get to safety in the event of a fire or other emergency. The officials cite improper or missing guardrails/handrails and that’s why.

It looks like Arlington, TX has the 2003 International Building Code and 2003 International Fire Code adopted. Those codes are adopted by city, county and state governments across the nation. The Cowboys, NFL and engineering firms working on this would certainly have been familiar with the codes. It’s pretty ridiculous that they couldn’t get this together in time for the Super Bowl. None of it should have been a surprise to them.

So while Drydan and Parajon deserve credit for saying “no” to an organization whose owner is very used to hearing “yes,” our collective view of the Cowboys organization should be a bit dimmer tonight.
Wow now it is completely dark first the Whitehouse where drugs and hookers ran rampant now this mess.
Jerry Jones are we sure he doesn’t own the Vikings too? Same type of stadium set up both crappy and unsafe similar teams crappy
Nice job Ziggy Jones

Who really cares .. when it comes down to it .. its all about the money anyways.. the players r all over paid . And damn .. i wish i had of been sitting n a set that broke bc then i could have gotten free season tickets lol .. what we need to be doing is making marihuana leagel .. that way we can tax it and create jobs √ vote yes

Thats why tort reform should never be approved….the Jerry Jones of the world could care less about the safety of people when it comes to money….the only way you can slow em down is to have the ability to take there billions…

Looks like the envelope that changed hands between Jerry and the Fire Marshall wasn’t fat enough after all.
It was enough to close 4 of the 10 entrances that also served as emergency exits, but not enough to risk even more lives for Jerry’s ego.

This thing gets worse and worse. What are Jerry Jones’ priorities? If someone had gotten hurt it would only mean more lawsuits. How did Jerry Jones become so rich? I suppose financial success and intelligence aren’t automatically one and the same?

Maybe the displaced 400 will win their lawsuit and bankrupt JJ. Then they would be the “owners” of the
“cow babies” like the public ownership of the Packers. Get a GM that knows something about football and run JJ back to Ark.

Let this be a lesson. Billionaires dont give a crap about the other 99 pecent of the people. We are just peices to their puzzle.

With that being said, how can this be of anny suprise to anyone? When it comes to the lives of enthusiastic fans and a billionaires ego, they will soothe their ego no matter if a life is lost. I hate to be so glum about it. But that’s the way it is.

The seats were never actually put in right? So they in fact, DID NOT assume the risk.

They ended up making the right decision by NOT putting in the shoddy seats.

No harm, no foul.
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ARE YOU KIDDING ME?? The only reason that owner is not facing negligence charges is because the city officials deemed it unsafe. The greedy billionaire consumed with wanting to have the most people in his building in history for a super bowl was about to discount those people’s safety in pursuit of a meaningless goal.

There is a lot that’s foul with that situation, and it’s more than the cowboy’s record last year.

WOW!!! I new Jerry Jones was a total Nut Job Megalomaniac but — WOW!!! — That is really really scary —- I’m sure though if the Wacko Megalomaniac Nut Job had been able to go ahead with his Maniac plans and the worst had occurred the NFL would have stepped in and paid for all the medical care and funerals and long term care —- I mean the NFL will usually do the right thing right —- I mean — umm —- Well they would have said they were sorry at least wouldn’t they — At least — Maybe

buckybadger says:
Feb 11, 2011 9:29 PM
I would like to revisit the collapsed dome that team practiced in again. Wonder how shady that was before hand.
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You have no idea, my friend.

Taking “calculated risks” like this are Standard Operating Procedure in Jerry World.

I know for a fact (sorry I can’t tell you how- but I swear I am telling the truth) that JJ had written warning that the practice facility was unsafe and did not meet the wind load requirements for which it was supposed to have been designed.

There had been questions about the integrity of the structure dating back to it’s construction in 2003.

The fact that this is common knowledge within the industry may have been one of the factors which caused the Arlington building officials to be extra wary of the seating situation, and rightfully so.

The practice facility didn’t collapse because of what type of building it is- there are thousands of similar structures throughout the world that are perfectly safe- but because of corners that were cut in the design, manufacture, and installation of that building.

freedomispopular says:
Feb 11, 2011 10:06 PM
I’m not siding with Jerruh here, but I seriously doubt anything would have happened.
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Since you haven’t developed a brain it’s doubtful that you ever will.

hvacguynva says:
Feb 11, 2011 9:41 PM
Who really cares .. when it comes down to it .. its all about the money anyways.. the players r all over paid . And damn .. i wish i had of been sitting n a set that broke bc then i could have gotten free season tickets lol .. what we need to be doing is making marihuana leagel .. that way we can tax it and create jobs √ vote yes

Please tell me this comment was a joke. Otherwise, it might keep me up at night wodering how someone could think this bit of information must be heard by the masses. You start off with the players being overpaid, state that season tickets are worth being seriously injured, and then make a case for the legalization of marijuana? And all the misspellings… Did you read what you wrote? Maybe you blacked out on some ambien and sleep typed this ridiculous statement? You sir, are an embarrassment to Virginia, and the reason responsible people can’t smoke pot. You ruin it for everyone.

Hate the Cryboys, love it when you take Jerry to task. But I put this 100% on the NFL. They should have been all over this immediately after week 17 regardless of whether or not the construction of seats was delgated to the Cowboys. The resposnibility lies with the NFL and if they let Jerry push them around so that his stadium could set a record, all the more reason to say “shame on you NFL.”

Who is this arrogant? What makes them think they have the right to risk the safety of hundreds of people? From the cartels that manufacture drugs that kill people to the banksters who engineered the Great Recssion, these greedy men make life and death decision as if they were choosing between vanilla or chocolate ice cream cones. It’s absolutely stunning and even criminal. The Super Bowl ticket fiasco has shown the NFL and owners for who they really are, and demonstrated with how much distain fans are held. They thought they could make people shut up and go away by offering Superbowl tickets and airfare. Their only mistake was to underestmate Joe Sixpack’s intelligence and willingness to lawyer up.

You’d think with all the death and destruction Jerry has left in his wake (practice facility collapse, deaths that occurred while building JerryWorld) that he would have wised up and learned.

Of course you’d also think that if you had a coach that just won you two Super Bowls you wouldn’t trash him and force him to leave not long after winning the second Super Bowl. I hate the Cowboys but they SHOULD have won at least 4-5 Super Bowls in the 90’s. That is, if Jerry hadn’t fired Jimmy Johnson they likely would have.

First, the Cowboys are no more “local” a business entity than Exxon, AT&T, American Airlines, Kimberly Clark, JC Penny, Southwest Airlines, Celanese, and another 20 or so Fortune 500 companies that are headquartered in DFW.

I recognize that PFT is on an anti-Dallas kick right now, but can we throw in an occasional intelligent comment with all the silliness?

Did you just say “no harm, no foul”? That’s rich. No harm, no foul to all the fans who spent thousands of dollars on tickets for seats that didn’t exist to the freakin Super Bowl. They’ve been misled/deceived, on game day treated like they don’t matter, lost out on what is, for most of us, a once in a lifetime experience, lost thousands of dollars in airfare, lodging, meals and the infamous faux tickets, and wasted vacation time all because the NFL, and apparently the Cowboys organization, sold seats they had no right to sell in an attempt to cram as many asses into as many seats as possible so that they could generate as much revenue as is possible. No harm, no foul… LOL

hvacguynva says:
Feb 11, 2011 9:41 PM
Who really cares .. when it comes down to it .. its all about the money anyways.. the players r all over paid . And damn .. i wish i had of been sitting n a set that broke bc then i could have gotten free season tickets lol .. what we need to be doing is making marihuana leagel .. that way we can tax it and create jobs √ vote yes

You Sir sound extremely “smart” way to go, how old are you???? Learn to put a couple of sentences together without sounding like a complete tool.

How do you not care about safety when your practice facility collapsed on your team just a couple of years ago. This just proves the affects greed has on people. Jerry Jones is not happy with owning one of the best franchises in sports or being a billionaire. He is willing to risk peoples lives to set the super bowl attendance record. Someone should’ve told Jerry the attendance doesnt count unless the fans walk out alive.

I have grown up hating the cowboys, but this season, after their missing the playoffs, I have some newfound respect for the team. I joked to my friend that if the cowboys would get rid of Tony Romo, Marion Barber, and Jerry Jones, I might like the cowboys. Well, 1 out of 3 ain’t bad.

Am I the only one that thinks sone of theses comments are absurd. The idea that the practice facility collapsed because Jerry Jones is an evil greedy man that cut corners on a building to save a buck. Is it possible that the roof collapsed due to terrible weather and that it was a freak accident. He did just build a billion dollar stadium. I doubt he’s cutting alot of corners. I have been in the stadium and it is awesome. I feel bad for the people that got screwed on the superbowl. It appears to me that the NFL is bending over backwards to try and make it up to them.
This website is full of negative thinkers that think the whole world is out to get them.

The NFL is an $11 billion a year industry. And in the pursuit of greed and ‘bragging rights’ Jerry Jones was willing to screw hundreds, if not thousands of NFL fans.

To make it worse, most of these fans spent $5k, or more, on the trip, lodging, etc. that surrounds the Superbowl. And for that they’re getting ‘triple face value’ refunds which won’t come anywhere near the actual costs these people incurred.

If the NFL had the sense God gave a goose, they’d make it right for these people. Be very public about it. Might cost them $8 or $9 million, which is about the amount of money these 1,250 people are (combined) out of…

The kind of money they piss away on useless, over-the-hill FAs without blinking… And a mere 8 one-hundredths of one-percent of NFL revenue.

I have no sympathy for the NFL. This Charlie foxtrot clearly exemplifies the “me first, money-first” attitude of modern ownership.

Maybe Jerry should have told Adam Sandler and his dopehead group to leave, I’m sure that accounted for 50 people right there. Or what about Owen Wilson and his paid by the hour doctors who have to make sure this guy isn’t commiting suicide every 2 hours, or better yet maybe the overrated, play the same part in every movie Jennifer Aniston should have been asked to go. I’m sure these people are DIE hard football fans and weren’t there to promote themselves or their movies.

I think alot of the ticket holders had their tickets way in advance and what Jerry wasn’t prepared for was to account on how many stars were in attendance and how to accomodate them. Its the only thing that was different they anyother superbowl. A former president, a shrew of actors and actresses and probably a million of thier friends to accomadate for. I didn’t see George W Bush waiting several hours for his seat, or Adam Sandler, or Jennifer Aniston. I get alot of stars show up for these things, but not like this one did.

191kfd says:
Feb 12, 2011 9:41 AM
Am I the only one that thinks sone of theses comments are absurd. The idea that the practice facility collapsed because Jerry Jones is an evil greedy man that cut corners on a building to save a buck. Is it possible that the roof collapsed due to terrible weather and that it was a freak accident.
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I guess you could think that if you unable or unwilling to do ten minutes of research before forming an opinion.

The official report on the incident from the National Institute of Standards and Technology clearly points out the design of the structure was not up to required standards.

Brooks Eggerton of the Dallas Morning News did an exhaustive investigation and wrote at least a dozen articles that exposed some of what occurred. Unfortunately, what he was able to find out is only the tip of the iceberg.

I have the NIST report and links to Brooks’ articles on my computer, but PFT deletes posts that include links and besides, it would probably be good for you to do your own work.

If you really care about what actually happened, that is.

Or just go on living with your head in the clouds believing that buildings just fall down on their own in “freak accidents”.

“Am I the only one that thinks sone of theses comments are absurd. The idea that the practice facility collapsed because Jerry Jones is an evil greedy man that cut corners on a building to save a buck. Is it possible that the roof collapsed due to terrible weather and that it was a freak accident.”

Hmmm. Tough choice.

1. Jerry is a cheap scumbag with no regard for safety or,
2. It was a freak accident.